


Yule Ball

by soleil_slytherin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Fourth Year, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Slash, Yule Ball (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-01-12 09:12:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18443504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soleil_slytherin/pseuds/soleil_slytherin
Summary: Draco is dared to ask Harry to the Yule Ball...Awkwardness and love ensues





	1. The dare

Draco stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, regretting most of his life decisions. The sun had long since sunk beneath the horizon, leaving only the moon’s faint glow illuminating the crooked trees, which were casting eerie shadows on the forest floor.

Pansy smirked. “Too chicken?”

Draco gulped as he heard a howl from deep in the woods. “Absolutely not.” He stammered a bit on his last word as another howl broke the silence, seeming a little louder, a little closer than the last- or was that simply his imagination?

Pansy was leaning against a tree, grinning lazily. Draco hated how much she was enjoying this. He’d had a little too much butterbeer that evening, and, on a massive sugar high, taken up one of Pansy’s insane dares. 

“Just walk to that willow tree.” She had nudged him playfully. “It’s not that far into the Forbidden Forest.” Draco had been hesitant, so she had added, “I’ll do your homework for the week- no, the month! But if you get there and chicken out, I get to dare you to do something. And you have to accept.”

So there he was, standing on the very edge of the Forbidden Forest, with what was possibly a werewolf (probably not, but there was a chance!) growing nearer, and Pansy on his tail.  
He wished he’d never told Pansy about his fear of the forest after his venture there in his first year with Potter. Ever since Draco was a child, he hadn’t liked forests and the dark- too much that could be hidden- so both combined didn’t sit well with him.

Pansy checked her watch, and Draco realized her thrill was fading, leaving only impatience. “So, are you going to do this or not?” She asked.

“I-” Draco stuttered, “I can’t.” He wasn’t a quitter. However, if this went on any longer, Pansy might laugh about it with Blaise and Crabbe and Goyle, and god forbid the whole school find out about it. He’d be a laughingstock, and he could only imagine what would happened if Potter found out too. He’d never hear the end of it from the golden boy and his friends. Draco’s thoughts were spiraling now. He thought of his father, his disappointment at his only son, who couldn’t even bully Potter right.

Before he could retreat into his memories, Pansy snapped him out of it by snapping her fingers in front of his face. “Hello? Draco?”

“What is it, Pansy?” Draco sighed. He needed to keep his emotions under control.

“I said, I have a dare for you.” Pansy smiled smugly. 

“Well, it can’t be any worse than going into the forbidden forest.” Draco conceded. “Just get on with it, it’s freezing out here.” Draco wrapped his jumper tighter around himself.  
“First, we have to make a binding contract.” Pansy stuck her hand out.

“A binding contract?” Draco snorted. “Who are you, a magical lawyer? The Malfoy's stick to their word.” Although Draco was beginning to get a tad suspicious about this whole affair, tiredness clouded his mind and he stuck his hand out, holding Pansy’s.

Pansy muttered a few words under her breath that Draco couldn’t quite catch. It was over before he knew it, and they shook on it.

“Now let’s head to the common room.” Pansy nodded and flung one end of her green scarf around her shoulder. Draco noticed for the first time that her face was reddening with the cold, and wondered just what had been so important to her, to make her stay out in the bitter winter weather. 

They walked back to the common room in silence. It was fairly uneventful, they did have to dodge Mrs. Norris twice, but Filch was presumably busy with other students. Once they had whispered the password and entered the dorm room, Draco collapsed in front of the fire flickering in the fireplace.

“So, what’s the dare? Do I have to make out with Blaise? You’ve used that one too much before, Pansy. I hope you’ve come up with some new material.”

For a second, tense silence fell over them, Draco bracing himself for the answer.

Eventually, Pansy spoke with a smile tugging at her lips. “You have to ask Potter to the Yule ball. And he can’t know it was a dare!” Pansy added quickly, before leaning back in the chair with a self-satisfying smile. 

Draco just sat there for a moment. “You must be out of your mind.”

Pansy shrugged, growing more smug by the minute.

“Asking Potter? My arch nemesis? To a dance?”

“Oh, stop being so dramatic, Draco. Sure, you’ll embarrass yourself to no end, but it’ll be fun. Watching you, at least. I wouldn’t want to be you.”

“I’m not doing it!” Draco threw his hands up in the air. “There’s no way.”

“It’s out of your control now.” Pansy responded calmly. “If you go back on your word now, well… let’s just say nothing good will come out of it.” She stood up and waved as she disappeared into the girls dormitory, her voice faint as she called back, “Good luck!”

...

Draco woke up grumpy. He stumbled out of bed, flipping Goyle the bird when the great lump tried to talk to him, and somehow even managed to put on his robes with an air of annoyance.

He couldn’t believe that Pansy had tricked him. The Mayfoy’s were never fooled. He shivered as he opened the common room door, starting to walk to the dining hall. He couldn’t help but feel like he had disgraced the entire Slytherin house. Weren’t Slytherins supposed to be cunning? 

Being tricked into asking out his enemy was the least Slytherin thing that could happen. In fact, it sounded like something a Gryffindor would do. He shuddered. 

And he had to make Harry agree, too! How was he supposed to do that? Dracos fists were clenched by the time he reached the Great Hall. 

He sat down at his table. 

“Why are you in such a bad mood today, Draco?” Blaise asked. 

Draco didn’t listen, just scanned the crowd for Potter. He found him immediately, laughing and talking with his friends. 

Draco had to admit, he didn’t look as bad when he was laughing. Draco never got to see Harry laughing, because they were always glaring at each other.

Harry looked over and locked eyes with Draco. Instead of looking away or sneering, Draco gave a curt nod, forced his mouth to not-frown, and turned to Blaise. “Oh, no reason.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Harry’s expression change from annoyance to confusion. He ignored him, and dismissed his urge to sneak another glance at the boy with the lightning scar. 

...

Draco watched as Harry’s potion turned a bubbling green. The other boy threw in a stalk of some orange plant desperately, that Draco couldn’t recognize and he was sure wasn’t supposed to be in that potion.

That was the last straw for Draco. He got up, ignoring Crabbe’s protests, and stalked over to Harry’s table. The black - haired boy jumped and spun around when Draco cleared his throat. 

“What do you want, Malfoy?” Harry sighed. For the first time, Draco noticed bags underneath his normally bright emerald eyes. 

“I’m getting tired of watching you mess up this potion.” Draco crossed his arms. “Move over, I could make this potion in my sleep.” That was about as civil as Draco could be towards Potter, but he thought he was doing quite well so far. Better to ease Potter into it anyways, not start being nice to him all at once. He would probably drop dead in shock.

Potter stumbled to the side and Draco started fixing the mess that Potter had made of his potion. He chopped, stirred, and mixed rapidly. Thankfully, the rest of the class was too busy with their own potions to bother wondering why Malfoy and Potter were working together.

“Here.” Draco held out a bottle full of sparkling purple liquid stiffly. “You pour, I stir.” 

“What-” Potter seemed to be at a loss for words. “What about Crabbe?”

Draco’s tag-along was staring dumbly at the potion, which had sat for much too long and was now growing what looked like tentacles.

“He’ll survive,” Draco waved his hand dismissively. “You, however, would not without my help. I saw Weasley and Granger have decided to work together, leaving you alone. So,” He shrugged, “I decided to help out of the kindness of my heart. Now. If you don’t pour it soon, the entire potion will curdle, and all my hard work will go to waste.”

“O- okay.” Potter tipped the bottle much too fast, and Draco had to clasp his hand over the other boy’s. 

“Like this.” Draco’s voice was softer as he steadied Potter’s hand. It was warm, and Draco, despite himself, let his hand linger for a moment longer than he should have. Just because of the warmth, Draco told himself sharply. Nothing else. 

Draco had barely finished when Snape called the students to the front of the class to give him their potions. All of the students seemed to snap out of their stupor, amd Harry and Draco got quite a few stares from the other students.

Especially Weasley and Granger. 

They weren’t even trying to hide their disbelief as they stared at Draco. It seemed like the entire class’s eyes were on him as he carried Harry and his potion up to Snape. Snape stared down his hooked nose at him, before deciding it wasn’t worth the effort and snatching their potion. 

After gathering his things, he strode over to Potter, who was still scrambling to gather his things, a slightly frantic look in his eyes. Weasley and Granger were waiting by the door, not quite within earshot.

“Good job today.” Draco winced at the clearly awkward conversation starter.

“Thank you?” Potter looked more confused than ever. He had finished gathering his books and stood with them in his arms, looking up at Draco like Draco had three heads. 

“Look,” Draco grabbed Potter’s arm and pulled him to the side, “I just wanted to apologize.”

“What?” Potter was fully bewildered now.

“In my first year, when I said I wanted to become friends, I really meant it.” It was a painful truth. Draco had desperately wanted to become friends with Harry Potter, so much that he had messed it up spectacularly. “Of course I messed it up, but seeing you in danger reminded me that life is short, right?”  
Potter nodded. Draco had no idea where he was pulling this acting skill from, but he was quite impressed with himself. He supposed the best lies were always imbedded with truth.

Or maybe the best lies aren’t lies at all-

Draco cut that thought off before it could grow.

“I’d like a second chance.” Draco stuck his hand out.

Potter hesitated, and Draco’s heart skipped a beat. Who knew what Pansy had in store for him. 

But then Harry grasped his hand and shook. “Okay. I guess?”

“Don’t expect for me to go all sappy on you again, Potter.” Draco withdrew his hand quickly, and Potter laughed.

He actually laughed. It was short, and Harry seemed just as surprised as Draco, but it was a laugh.

Draco was oddly happy as he walked out of the potions room, and he couldn’t quite explain why.


	2. Second chance

Draco was rushing to dinner, eager to tell Pansy about his progress, when he heard a giggle erupt from a corridor behind him. His curiosity taking over, he peered around the corner to see Potter talking to Cho Chang. He was blushing and stuttering something out. Draco stained his ears to hear it, but was too far away to hear. 

Cho went red then, and sheepishly told him something. Potter’s face dropped and he quickly put on a fake smile, waving goodbye to Cho and walking towards Draco. The second Potter turned away, his facade disappeared, all the pretense of happiness draining away from his face.

Draco realized it would look extremely suspicious if he was found evesdropping on Potter's conversation and quickly pretended to be walking in his path.

They collided a bit harder than Draco had expected, and Potter fell to the ground with a yelp. He lay there for a second, rubbing his head, before Draco realized he should probably help and extended a hand. Potter took it and was on his feet in an instant.

“You okay?” Draco asked.

“Yeah,” Potter added as an afterthought, “Asked Cho Chang to the Yule Ball.”

“Oh.” Draco said. “I’m guessing she didn’t say yes?”

“Yeah,” Potter said. “And I don’t exactly have anyone to go with, and the dance’s in a couple of days, and I really need a partner, except there’s no one who really wants to go with me… and why am I telling you this?”

“Because we’re trying to be civil, Potter.”

“If we’re going to be friends, we at least need to call each other by our first names, Draco.” Harry half-smiled as he said Draco’s name.

“Okay… Harry.”

“That felt weird.” Harry laughed.

“Yeah,” Draco smiled, and Harry looked shocked. “Why so surprised, P- Harry?”

“You smiled.” Harry said with disbelief. 

“I’ve smiled before.” Draco said indignantly. 

“I wasn’t sure about that.” Harry shook his head.

The conversation lulled, and Draco thought, Now or never.

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” Draco braced himself. “I don’t have a date to the ball either. So I was thinking that we could just go together, get it over with?”

Harry’s eyes went wide, and he stepped back. “Okay, this is definitely a joke.”

Draco held his hands out in surrender. “No, no, no, no. Absolutely not.”

“You can’t mean to tell me that you think it’s a good idea to go to the ball together?” Harry said, raising his eyebrows. 

“I’m just saying it might be funny-”

“To humiliate me in front of the entire school.” Harry interrupted.

“To…” Draco grasped for a reason. “See their faces! Imagine how bewildered they’d be.”

Harry looked skeptical. “How do I know this isn’t a joke on me?”

Draco wanted to strangle Pansy. 

“I’ll ask you to the dance… in front of the entire school!”

Harry looked interested.

“They’ll be so confused when you say yes. And then you’ll know it’s not a joke.”

Harry paused. “I could never pass up on an opportunity to humiliate you. Fine. We’ll go to the Yule Ball together.” He laughed a little at his last words, as if he couldn’t believe he was saying them. “But you better come up with the best way to ask me ever.”

Draco nodded, but Harry had already turned around and started heading to the Gryffindor Tower, leaving Draco to wonder just what he had gotten himself into. 

Draco had lay awake all night, not able to get the image of Potter and his stupid smile out of his head. When he entered the Great Hall the next morning, he and Potter, instead of glaring, gave each other knowing looks. 

The owls came to give the news a couple of minutes later. Draco had a knot in his stomach. He hadn’t expected to be nervous. 

A swarm of owls began dropping packages to the expecting students. So many owls, in fact, that it was hard to see the dozen or so owls that broke away from the group at first. Draco mustered all his concentration and flicked his wand, and the owls did a perfectly synchronized swoop right in front of Harry Potter. They dropped pieces of paper, which, when Draco muttered under his breath, folded themselves into paper airplanes, which unfolded to reveal green script that read in loopy letters, “Yule Ball?”

The entire hall was swooning now, looking around for the girl with the perfect spellmanship. Quite a few eyes landed on Hermione.

“Yes!” Harry said in a perfect imitation of joy, so happy that Draco himself almost believed it. 

Now it was his turn. Draco stood up and strode across the Great Hall. There were murmurs of confusion running through the crowd. 

He reached Harry, and he could feel the eyes of the entire school on them. It was too late to turn back now. 

He lunged towards Harry, and the entire school erupted, some Gryffindor students whipping their wands out, until he wrapped his arms around Harry's waist. The students that had rushed to defend  
him were now exchanging puzzled glances with their friends. The entire hall was now staring at them. Draco decided to stick with the “Go big or go home” mentality and he lifted Harry off the ground, spinning him around, like he had seen in some muggle movies.

When they let go of their embrace, both of their expression flickered with knowledge, like they had an inside joke and were flaunting it to the school. Which Draco supposed they did.  
Harry grabbed Draco's hand and pulled Draco past the Hall's huge doors, out of sight of the students. Even when they turned the corner and the doors closed behind them, they could still hear the entire school in shock. Harry’s smile was wild, and Draco thought of a picture of James his father had shown him. Even though Lucius’ point with showing him James was to make him understand how foolish he was, Draco remembered that he couldn’t help but be jealous of James’ carelessness, his untamed hair and bright eyes, as if he was laughing at life. 

That was what Harry looked like now. Thrilled. 

And Draco loved it. 

“We did it!” Harry beamed. “But the spin? Was that too much?”

“No, did you hear them?” Draco smiled slightly as he pointed to the Great Hall, where he was sure no one had recovered. 

It felt odd to smile with Harry, but Draco couldn’t deny that when he was talking to Harry, their past didn’t matter. He enjoyed talking with Harry more than Crabbe and Goyle, maybe even more than Blaise. They acted like old friends reunited, and Harry had coaxed more than one smile out of him over the past day. 

“What do we do now?” Harry’s smile dimmed.

Draco had to admit that he hadn’t thought about that. “We go back to our tables and pretend nothing happened.” He decided.

“Okay.” 

When they entered the Great Hall again, every head in the school turned to them. Draco held his head high and walked back to his table, ignoring the buzz that surrounded him. He slipped back into his seat, picked up a fork and knife, and proceeded eat his breakfast.

His friends seemed too stunned to talk, but Pansy leaned over, whispering, “Good job, Draco.” 

There were two days until the Yule Ball.

Draco lay in his bed, his silver bed sheets pulled up to his chin, and stared at the ceiling. 

Draco had anticipated disgust, regret, even anger, but he hadn’t expected fear. He was nervous. Draco Malfoy, the pureblood Slytherin who had ties to Voldemort, was afraid of going to a dance.

With Harry Potter, his arch nemesis.

Were they even enemies, anymore? Over the past week or so, they had been enjoying the school’s confusion. They had even talked between classes, and Draco enjoyed it. 

He couldn’t wrap his head around that.

Pansy seemed to enjoy it just as much as Harry and Draco. A mastermind, she was. Draco shook his head, wishing he could think of anything but this damned dance. 

The moon was full and bright outside, illuminating the grounds, where snowflakes fell softly, blanketing the ground. The rest of his roommates were fast asleep, but their snores were driving Draco crazy, and on top of the Yule Ball, he couldn’t fall asleep.

He slipped out of bed and put his slippers on, then headed out of the dorm and into the common room.

He expected that no one would be awake at this hour, but when he entered the common room, a girl sat curled up in the common room chair, staring at the fire. The flames were casting shadows on her face, and when she looked up at him her expression was solemn. It quickly turned to a sheepish smile, as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t have. 

“What are you doing here?” Draco asked, sinking into the chair across from her. In this room, with the crackling fireplace and the lake’s green shadows lazily dancing on the walls, he was suddenly a lot more tired. 

“I could ask the same to you.” Pansy raised her eyebrow.

“I couldn’t sleep.” Draco sighed, realizing her point was a valid one.

“Same as you.” Pansy nodded. “Is it because of Harry?”

Draco had been nodding off, but he jolted awake at the mention of Harry’s name. “How did you know?”

“It was pretty easy to guess.” Pansy shrugged. “You’ve gone from enemies to friends in the span of a week. You’re going to the Yule Ball together, for heaven’s sake! The school is practically in an uproar.”

“It’s all thanks to you.” Draco said sarcastically. 

“You’re very welcome,” Pansy responded, and Draco snorted. “No, I’m happy that you guys are getting along. It’s sort of refreshing.”

“I guess it is.” Draco said. “I’m just… nervous, I suppose. I don’t even know why. I haven’t really felt this way in a while. I get so nervous that my stomach keeps doing little flips whenever I look at him.” 

Pansy’s expression changed from neutral to confused to surprise to amusement, a kaleidoscope of emotions all at once. Before Draco could react, she nodded knowingly. “Ah, yes. I can tell you’re very nervous. That’s it.”

“Yeah…” Draco trailed off at the end of his sentence and rubbed his eyes. “Look, I’m exhausted.” He stood up and stretched, walking towards the boy’s dormitory. “I’m going to bed.”

“Okay. ‘Night.” Pansy waved, before turning around. Draco heard what he thought was a laugh before he opened the door to the dormitory. 

He collapsed into his bed and was asleep in an instant.

Author's note:

So I'm wondering whether you guys think I should continue with the fluff or put a lil angst in here. It wouldn't be a ton, but enough to keep the story going and add a bit of spice. But I'm not sure, what do you guys think?


	3. Dance

Draco’s breath fogged up the window as he pressed his face up against it. 

It was Christmas Day, the Yule Ball was in a couple of hours, and what was Harry doing?

Having a snowball fight in the middle of the courtyard. 

He squinted through the fog at Granger, who was waving goodbye to Harry and the Weasley. She must be getting ready three hours early. Draco scoffed.

Although, speaking of getting ready…

Draco grabbed a coat, put on his shoes, and headed outside.

When he reached the courtyard, he had to sulk around for a couple of minutes before Harry saw him. Well, more accurately, didn’t see him, because Harry only noticed Draco after he threw a snowball at Draco’s face.

“I’m so sorry!” Harry ran over, his face red from the cold. He tried to wipe the snow off of Draco’s face with his gloves, but ended up smudging it all over his neck. 

Draco must have been very nervous, the funny feeling in his stomach was coming back again.

Instead of responding, he leaned down, scooped up a handful of snow, and flung it right into Harry’s face.

The boy stood there in disbelief for a couple of seconds, snow dripping down his chin, before he dropped to the ground and scooped up a handful of snow. He threw Draco off by running, throwing the snowball behind him seconds before he ducked behind a tree. 

It hit slightly off mark, landing right onto Draco's heart. He brushed the snow off, but wayward white flakes still clung to his robes. 

He had an idea, and threw another snowball and Harry, running towards the doors to the hall. 

Harry had to follow him, so Draco stood on the steps and watched as Harry weaved through the students strolling through the lawn, the snowball clutched in his mittened hand slowly melting. 

When Harry finally reached the bottom of the stairs, he was panting. Draco dodged the incoming snowball easily, ducking under it as he ran down the stairs and grabbed Harry's wrist.

"What-” Harry laughed as Draco pulled him inside Hogwarts. 

"C'mon,” Draco dropped Harry's arm and faced him. Their faces were both flushed, and Harry was rubbing his hands together in a feeble attempt to warm them. “Let's get ready.”

“Already?” Harry raised his eyebrows.

Draco rolled his eyes. “Yes, we’ve got to look at least somewhat presentable, Potter.” 

Harry waved his finger back and forth. “Harry, remember?”

“Fine.” Draco sighed. “Anyways, I was thinking we could meet at a designated time. I was thinking that we could help each other, but then I remembered that muggle tradition that says you’re not supposed to see each other before a dance.”

“That’s for weddings, Draco,” Harry laughed. “I don’t think we’re quite there yet.”

“Oh.” Draco felt his face heating up.

“But you’re right. Let’s meet ten minutes before the ball, at the doors to the Great Hall.”

“Okay.” Draco nodded. He was still at a loss for words after that embarrassing muggle mix-up. He was going to kill Pansy, as she was the one who told him about it. 

“Okay.” Harry parroted him, but Draco could tell it wasn’t mean-spirited. Maybe Harry was nervous, too. “I’ll see you!” Harry called over his shoulder as he walked away.

“Bye,” Draco waved, but Harry was too far away to hear him.

The walk back to the Slytherin common room was torture. Draco was a bundle of nerves with nothing to distract him from his thoughts.

It was a relief when he reached his dormitory, as he was finally able to think of something besides Harry and his stupid smile. 

He realized with a start that he and Harry had never coordinated their dress robes. Draco’s were black, made out of velvet, and with a high collar. His father had gotten them custom made for him the second he had found out the Triwizard Tournament was occuring. 

When he looked in the mirror after changing, he felt a little more confident, as if the robes were a shield. Blaise patted him on the back. “You look good, Draco.”

Draco inclined his head and headed down to the common room.

It was buzzing with excitement. Couples were seeing each other for the first time, and there were quite a few who were making out in the corners of the common room.  
Pansy ran up to Draco, her pale pink robes trailing behind her. 

“Excited?” She grinned. 

“Nervous.” Draco whispered, low enough so no one could hear. The common room was so loud that no one could’ve heard him in his normal voice, but it was good to take precautions. 

“I wonder why.” Pansy laughed, looking around. When Draco followed suit, he was pleasantly surprised by the lack of stares. For the past week, anywhere Draco went, he had been stared at. It was refreshing to have everyone so invested in their own lives that they weren’t nosing into Draco’s. “Let’s go,” Pansy gestured, and they walked out the door, heading towards the great hall.

The funny feeling in Draco’s stomach had mounted the closer they came to the doors. He was even starting to worry that Harry would think he looked ridiculous in his robes, even though he thought he looked quite handsome, if he did say so himself.

“Good luck,” Pansy said as she walked away to find Blaise, leaving Draco standing alone awkwardly.

He fiddled with his hands for a few moments, not sure what exactly to do. He peered into the Great Hall in an attempt to look busy, but the flickering lights (why did everything have to be so romantic?) and loving couples made him queasy.

From behind him, he heard a tentative voice call, “Draco?”

Draco spun around to find Harry right behind him.

He looked stunning.

His green robes perfectly matched his eyes, going perfectly with his olive skin. His hair was actually half-decent, and Draco had to admit that when Harry made an effort, he looked nothing short of handsome. 

He could feel his face heating up as he stuttered out, “You look really good.” 

Really good? He wanted to slap himself. He usually thought of himself as a decently poetic person, and his brain was coming up with many creative ways to describe how Harry looked right now, and the best he could spit out was pretty good? 

“You too, Draco.” Harry seemed a lot less nervous than Draco, although the blush that was slowly spreading across his face suggested that he was much more anxious than he appeared.

In an attempt to break the silence, Harry added, “I think we should go inside now.” His eyes still hadn’t left Draco’s.

“Let’s.” Draco held out his arm and the other boy took it with no hesitation. They joined the crowd of students strolling into the dining hall.

Draco let out a small gasp as they entered the room. It had been completely transformed. 

Fairy lights hung over the entire hall, the only light other than flickering candles that sat on the tables. The ceiling was dotted with constellations, a perfect replica of the cloudless night sky. 

Draco’s heart felt like it was going to explode from beating too fast when McGonagall gestured the champions and their partners to follow her.

Fleur and followed by a boy who was practically drooling over her, and Cedric and Cho beamed at each other. Hermione and Krum walked together, the former dressed in a floaty blue dress, her hair not it’s usual nest.

Then there was Harry and Draco. They were both nervous; Draco could almost feel Harry’s heart beating much faster than it should, although he couldn’t fault him, because his was doing the same. 

They stopped right in front of Dumbledore and the teacher’s table. He smiled down at them, even at Draco and Harry, and waved his hand towards the empty seats next to the judges. Draco sat down, Harry at one side, Fleur at the other. 

The tables were set with golden plates, with small menus placed delicately on top of them. Draco was a bit confused, as this was not the normal dinner set up, and it seemed no one else had any idea on how to order, as even Hermione stared at hers with a puzzled expression.

Dumbledore appeared aware of this, because once the hall quieted down, he said loudly and clearly, “Pork chops!” And the aforementioned food appeared on his plate. 

The great hall quickly filled with noise as hungry student shouted at their plates.

Draco felt a little silly as he whispered “Turkey,” into his plate. When nothing appeared, he looked at Harry, who was laughing at him.

“You have to say it louder.” Harry giggled. “Like this: pudding!” He said loudly to his plate, and in an instant, a serving appeared on his plate.

“Turkey,” Draco said, louder this time, and it popped into existence on his plate. 

At first, Draco and Harry were too immersed in their food to bother with conversation, but as the minutes passed with no conversation, it began to get awkward. 

“So,” said Harry, turning to him, “I hope you’re better at dancing than I am.”

“We don’t have to dance,” Draco replied over the potatoes on his mouth, “We can just watch other couples embarrass themselves.”

As soon as he said it, he wanted to crawl under the table. Other couples? Draco had just made it seem like he was calling Harry and him a couple. Which they were definitely not, and in no way would ever be, Draco was almost a hundred percent sure of it. 

However, Harry, always oblivious, didn’t seem to notice. “You don’t mean to tell me you don’t know about the champions dance?” 

Draco turned pale. “The what?”

“The champion’s dance.” Harry repeated slowly. “The champions and their partners have the first dance. I assumed you knew when you asked me.”

Draco swallowed. “I did not. Do we know what song we’re dancing to? We should have planned this! I’m going to embarrass myself in front of the entire school.” Draco sighed as he looked out on the other students, laughing and chatting. Soon all those eyes would be on him, judging him, and Draco wasn’t even that good of a dancer.

“It’s okay.” Harry patted him on the back. It was very awkward, but a sweet gesture nothingless. “I’m not a dancer either. We can be the least coordinated couple on the dance floor!”

They froze. 

Harry and Draco looked at each other, each with an utterly mortified expression.

“Not that I meant couple - couple-” Harry stuttered out, “But dance couple- I mean partners-” They stared at each other for a few moments before bursting out laughing. 

Harry choked out between giggles, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t… thinking.”

Once Draco had finished laughing, he replied, “No, it’s fine.”

Before he could think of something else to say- it was beginning to get quite awkward- Dumbledore stood, and the Hall quieted. 

“Please stand,” Dumbledore gestured for the students to rise. There was a rustling as everyone stood, and then, with a flick of his wand, the tables and chairs moved against the wall, clearing the floor.

Everyone began to applaud, and some whistles punctuated the air as a band took to the stage. Draco squinted, trying to figure out who the band was. (he had been much too busy with all this Harry business to keep up with the gossip) When the lights lit up the players faces, Draco turned to Harry. Without thinking, he grabbed his arm in excitement. 

“Harry, it’s the Weird Sisters!” He looked up at them with wide eyes. His favorite band, right before his eyes.

“The who?” Harry narrowed his eyes at the band, but when he looked back at Draco, he shrugged. “Never heard of them.”

“You’ve never heard of the Weird Sisters?” Draco shook his head in mock disappointment. “I’ve got a lot to teach you.”

When Draco turned back to get another look, he realized that the whole school was looking at him. 

Harry grabbed his hand, pulling him down to the makeshift dance floor. “C’mon,” He hissed, “We’ve got to dance.”

For one brief, blissful moment, Draco had almost forgot. 

Once he and Harry reached the other champions, the Weird Sisters had already begun playing a slow tune. When Draco looked around, the other champions had already started dancing. He could  
practically see Pansy’s smug smirk out of the corner of his eyes. 

There was a short, uncomfortable moment where they both tried to put their hands on each others waist, then on the other’s shoulders, but Draco decided that since he was taller, just by an inch or two, he would put his hands on Potter’s waist. 

It was purely practicality. 

Normally, during these functions, (his father had held a few at the manor) Draco would try to melt into the crowd. There was no doing that, as there were only six other people dancing at the moment, and they were by far the most talked about couple.

Not that they were a couple. They absolutely weren’t, Draco told himself as he looked into Harry’s eyes, wondering how he had never noticed the small bits of gold that shone brightly in them.

After a few seconds of being much too tense, Draco somewhat relaxed into it. This was his best dancing he had ever done, and it was with Potter. He could imagine his father’s-

No. Draco had been doing his best to avoid thinking of his father throughout the week, and he was not going to let him ruin the surprisingly good time he was having.

“This isn’t so bad.” Harry murmured.

“Wow, you really expected the worst, Po- Harry.”

Harry gave him a glance. 

“I’m still working on it, okay?” 

“Fine.” Harry rolled his eyes playfully. Draco thought that the banter they’d had for the past week was much better than any conversation they’d had before. 

Harry was looking into his eyes. There was something deep in his eyes that he hadn’t seen before. It certainly wasn’t hatred, but it wasn’t friendship. 

As the song ended and Harry turned, calling to Ron, Draco couldn’t get that expression out of his head. 

Draco knew he had seen it somewhere. It was so familiar.


	4. Awakening

Before Draco could think about Harry’s expression, Harry had dragged him to sit with Ron and his date. Neither of them looked happy. Ron’s arms were crossed and he was glaring at Hermione, who was laughing with Krum on the dance floor.

Draco sat down next to Ron, bracing himself. He fiddled with his robes as Ron tore his gaze from Hermione and stared at him.

“Look, I know you and Harry are best buds now,” Ron spoke. “But I still don’t trust you. Or like you at all.”

Repressing his desire to snap at him, Draco mustered up all the self-control he could and shrugged. “That’s fair,” He finally met Ron’s eyes.

“What?” Ron recoiled, looking shocked. 

“Well, I haven’t been the nicest to Harry or you, but I hope we can put that behind us.” 

“No.” Ron said sharply. “You called Hermione a- a-” he lowered his voice, “mudblood. No one can call my friends things like that and expect to be welcomed with open arms.”

Draco had, frankly, forgotten about that unfortunate incident. It made his stomach turn now, the way he had spat out the word like it meant nothing, like it hadn’t been used as a vile slur against muggleborns for as long as he could remember. So he decided that the truth was the best thing to say. After all, it had worked with Harry.

“And I regret saying that.” Draco looked at Ron, putting all his conviction into his words. “I had heard my father say it often, to whoever he didn’t like. I suppose I thought it was okay for me to say it, but it wasn’t. I’ve learned a lot from Harry-” He looked towards Harry, who was looking at his with a mixture of fear and pride. “And I hope to learn more from you.”

Ron looked shellshocked. “I-” He stuttered out. “Just try not to ruin my night, you prick.”

Draco nodded. “Sure. Want to get some punch, Harry?” 

Harry nodded, and they both got up. As they were walking to the table, Draco caught Pansy’s eye. She winked. Draco was reminded that going to the dance with Potter was a dare, and after this, he could go back to hating Potter as much as he wanted.

He was surprised to realize that he didn’t want to. He wanted to be Harry’s friend. The realization made Draco feel small, like he was a first year again. 

“Want to go for a walk?” Draco asked Harry once they had reached the table. His stomach felt like it was doing flips, which confused him. The dance was practically over, and the hard part was behind him. Why was he still nervous?

“Okay,” Harry nodded, and they stepped outside into the gardens.

They were beautiful tonight, with fairies floating around, lighting up the hedges, which had been sculpted into perfection. Draco was surprised that Hagrid, with his huge, clumsy hands, had been able  
to carve all the intricate details into the bushes. Then again, if there was anything that Draco had learned over the past week or so, it was that people weren’t always as they appeared. Stone statues seemed to reach out to them, and a fountain bubbled in the middle to the cobblestone path they were now strolling down. 

As Draco glanced at the couples sitting on benches, he found himself wishing that they were alone. Which was ridiculous, after all, what would they do alone that they couldn’t do with other students  
around?

But as Draco looked at Harry, the boy looking around at the decorations with wonder, a crazy idea popped into his head. 

Harry looked at him and they locked eyes for a second, and Draco couldn’t believe he was actually thinking of kissing Harry Potter.

It was a very good thing that it was dark in the gardens, because Draco was sure he was blushing more than he ever had in his life.

Harry raised one eyebrow as he looked at him. “You okay? You look a little… flustered.”

Damn those fairies, Draco thought. Apparently there was more light in the gardens than he had originally thought. 

“No, I’m doing great. Perfect.” Draco stuttered. 

Harry still looked dubious, but he let the subject drop. “Are you enjoying the dance so far?” 

Draco nodded. “I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting to have this much fun.”

“What about your father? You’re always talking about how much he hates me.”

And there it was. Draco knew it was bound to come up eventually, but the subject of his father was one his other friends tiptoed around, as if mentioning his father would break some sort of delicate silence. Then again,they knew more about his father, and more specifically, what his father was like, than Harry did. Of course every student, Harry included, knew of Draco’s father, the infamous Lucius Malfoy, death eater, insanely rich, and even more stuck up. Only a few people knew about what went on behind closed doors. 

Pansy and Blaise were the only ones Draco had showed his bruises to, if only by accident.

\---

Draco was sobbing into his blankets when Blaise stumbled into the dorm.

It was the beginning of second year, and the day before, Draco’s father’s case had been reopened. A new witness had came forward to testify against the fact that Draco’s father had been under the imperius curse during his time serving Voldemort. There was no way for that to be Draco’s fault, of course.

But his father didn’t care. So Draco came to school with bruises blooming on his chest, positioned carefully where the professors wouldn't be able to see.  
Blaise had walked into his room and seen Draco in his moment of weakness. He had demanded that Draco show him, and Draco did. Blaise’s face had gone pale and he had pleaded with Draco to go to a professor, to tell someone, but Draco couldn’t.

He knew that his father could bribe the right people, and if he heard that Draco was telling people, he would get him taken out of Hogwarts and Draco would be trapped in his house all year, until he was seventeen. The thought alone was too much too handle.

Summers with his father were long, hot, and painful. If he had to spend the entire year with him, he might just go insane. 

So Draco kept silent, he kept watching Harry and his friends, and he let the jealousy that grew inside him fester and twist into hatred. 

\---

What was Draco supposed to do with Potter’s question? The real answer was that his father could never find out, and if he did, Draco couldn’t imagine what he would do to him.

So Draco turned to Harry with his best pleading look. “Can we not talk about about my father? Please?”

“Okay.” Harry nodded, and he reached over for Draco’s hand, giving it a quick squeeze. Draco felt a rush of warmth flood through him, and he savoured that one second, sure that Harry would let go within a second.

But he didn’t. Draco waited a couple of seconds, far past the normal hand-squeezing range, before realizing that Harry wasn’t going to let his hand go.

And then Draco was strolling in the garden, holding hands with Harry Potter. And he could not longer ignore the voice in his head that nagged at him, telling him to lean a little closer to Harry, and that if their lips accidently touched, he wouldn’t have a problem with that. 

And why was Harry holding his hand? After all, they weren't anything, they just talked in between class, and went to the Yule Ball together, and held hands…

Oh, shit.


	5. Kiss

Maybe that nervous feeling Draco felt in his stomach wasn’t nervousness. 

Maybe, over the past week, Draco had started to want to become more than friends with Harry Potter.

That’s ridiculous, Draco thought. We’ve been only friends for a week. Then he paused. Them again, we’ve known each other for years. 

Harry looked over at him, and Draco's heart fluttered. That definitely wasn't any emotion he had experienced with his friends before.

“Is it weird?” Harry asked, concern evident in his voice. Draco was confused for a second before he saw Harry's gaze drifting down to their entwined hands. 

“No.” Draco said quickly. 

Harry sighed in relief. “Okay, I just figured it was a couple thing to do… not that we are… oh god, I just called us a couple twice in one night.”

“I get it.” Draco nodded. “All part of the plan. Fool the students, all that stuff.”

Since they had been wandering pretty aimlessly for the past couple of minutes, Draco steered Harry towards a bench near the fountain, where they say, brushing each other's sides. Draco, for one,  
would have liked to move closer, but it would probably weird Harry out if he started scotching towards Harry, pressing his shoulder into the other boy's. 

“Fuck the plan.” Harry said suddenly, and Draco almost jumped. “I… didn't mean that to come out the way it did, I just… so far, we've been doing this for the school. What if we just did it for us?” He nervously tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, and Draco almost couldn't stand it. “I actually enjoy spending time with you.” When Draco raised his eyebrows, Harry shrugged. “I know, I’m surprised too. But I’m actually enjoying being friends with you.”

“Me… too.” Draco enjoyed being friends with Harry, but he couldn’t stop the voice that whispered in his head, urging him to move closer, to lean in, to take more than Harry had already given.

“Do you want to dance?” Harry gestured to the castle, where shadows danced, reflecting wildly against the candlelight. 

“Okay.” Draco nodded. 

Harry pulled him to his feet and they walked back to the castle, brushing sides too many times for Draco to tell himself that it was an accident.

When they reached the castle, the song was just dying down, and the band was pausing, the guitariarist fiddling with his instrument.

As they took their places on the dance floor, trying to squeeze between the crowd of people, the band roared to life again. The crowd cheered and Harry and Draco were jostled around as people began  
to dance wildly, thrashing around the dance floor.

It had reached the point of the night where everyone had too much punch, and they were all so energetic that Draco was nervous at first, simply shuffling his feet and dodging people to avoid being stepped on. 

Then he saw Harry. He was laughing, and he had somehow found Hermione among the sea of students. 

His dancing was carefree, as if he wasn’t the chosen one, as if soon he wouldn’t be competing in a deadly task. 

Draco watched him until the point that it was creepy. He shuffled around a little, trying to blend in with the mass of students moving around him, all while staring at Potter. 

As the song ended, Harry stumbled over to him, pulling Hermione behind him. His hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bright. He couldn’t stop looking at him.

Hermione was eyeing Draco warily as they walked out of the crowd of dancers and into the slightly smaller crowd of people grabbing refreshments and chatting. 

Before Draco could say anything, Harry turned to Hermione. “You might want to go check on Ron,” He pointed towards the Weasley, who’s chin was propped up with one hand, and who’s eyes were  
narrowed at the happy couples. “He’s not doing so great.”

“I suppose.” Hermione gathered up her dress in her hands and walked over to Ron.

“Let’s not watch that trainwreck,” Draco said before Hermione reached the table. He grabbed Harry’s arm and pulled him towards the door. “I have to admit, I enjoy the garden. Want to go outside again?”

Harry took one last look over his shoulder before nodding and following Draco into the gardens once more. 

When they got outside, Draco breathed in the cool night air, then glanced at Harry. Harry was already looking at him, but when they locked eyes, he quickly looked away.

“Look,” Draco said. “I know I’ve said this before, but I’m surprised at how much I like spending time with you.”

While he was talking, they walked over to the bench they had been sitting at before.

When they sat down, Draco continued. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m glad we went to the ball together. As friends. Well, that's actually what I'm attempting to say right now, and failing at quite miserably. Not about us being friends, but about-”

“Don’t worry, I think I know what you’re talking about.” Harry was smiling gently.

“You do?” From Draco’s experience, Harry was dense when it came to recognizing feelings.

“Yes.” Harry nodded, now staring deep into Draco’s eyes. His emerald ones were piercing, and Draco’s heart fluttered. Shyly, he said, “You do know that Ron’s my best friend, right? As much as I like you, I can't abandon Ron. He’s always going to be my best friend.”

“What?” Draco paused.

There was a beat of silence.

“Well, I can’t just let you replace Ron, y’know?” Harry chuckled. “Even if you want to be my best friend.”

He can’t possibly be this stupid. Draco thought in shock. He came to an unpleasant conclusion a few seconds later, which was that Draco was going to have to make a move if he wanted Harry to realize his feelings.

Go big or go home. He thought as he raised his hand, pushed it through Harry’s wind-tangled hair, and leaned in.

Draco felt a slight shock as his lips met Harry’s.

I’m kissing Harry Potter. 

For a second, Harry was stiff, and Draco nearly pulled away, thinking, it was a mistake-

But then Harry leaned into the kiss and pulled Draco closer. 

For a moment, they were the only people in the world. All thoughts of how public a place the garden was, how Potter was the person he was kissing, flew out of his mind. Then he left out a soft gasp, and the trance they had both been in were broken. 

Harry jumped away, nearly falling off the edge of the bench, and Draco simply stayed where he was, watching him.

Harry’s face flickered through about a thousand emotions at once, so much that even Draco, who was an expert on reading people, couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. 

A beat of silence.

“I’m sorry.” Harry said.

“Sorry for what?” Draco replied, confused. “I was the one who, well…”

Harry was speaking very fast now, “Yes, but I don’t know if you wanted to-”

“If I hadn't wanted to kiss you, then I wouldn't have.” Draco’s reply came out a little sharper than he had originally intended. 

“Oh. I did too. I mean- want to kiss you, that is. I'm not sure why.”

“Me neither.”

And then they were staring at each other with the sound of the bubbling fountain in the background.

Draco saw Harry's face pinch together, the corners of his mouth twitching, until he burst out laughing. 

Harry's laugh was contagious, and soon they were both giggling- giggling, if his father could see him.

Harry took a few, gasping breaths, and sighed, and then there was a silence again. Draco wasn’t sure why he wasn’t saying anything. He had so many things to say to Harry, so many things he wanted  
to confess, but one nagged him from the back of his brain. 

He glanced towards the window, where students were still dancing. He saw Pansy whirl by in a blink, so fast all he caught was her light pink dress, and he felt a shock of dread run through him. 

He shivered. He felt Harry’s hand wrap around his, and when he turned back to meet Harry’s eyes, they were shy but welcoming. 

Harry thought he was cold, but he was worried. 

Draco was worried because he had been lying to Harry. It had all been a dare, a dare that got wildly out of control, a dare that was real now. 

“Harry…”

Harry, being the most oblivious person Draco had ever met, nodded and smiled. He gave Draco’s hand a quick squeeze, and Draco cursed him for being so hard to confess too. Against Harry’s innocence, even Draco’s small lie seemed detestable.

“Look, Harry-”

“Yes?” Harry looked up at him with bright, eager eyes. 

“I…” Draco closed his eyes and gave Harry’s hand a squeeze. “I wasn’t telling the full truth.”

Harry’s grip loosened ever so slightly. “What do you mean?”

“It was a dare.” Draco said rapidly. He cast his glance towards his lap, where his fist was clenched, fingernails digging into his palm and leaving tiny half-moon marks.

“What was a dare?” There was a twinge of fear in Harry’s voice, but most of his desperation showed in his eyes, greener than any plant in the garden surrounding them. They were wide and wild, but  
not wild with laughter, but wild with confusion.

  

“Me asking you. It wasn’t just something that happened on a whim-neither was out friendship. Pansy dared me too.” He snuck a cautious glance at Harry’s face.

Harry’s eyes were glassy and watery, his mouth slightly open in shock. “You lied to me?”

“Yes, but I swear it was only once-”

“You lied to me.” Harry interrupted. His voice was louder this time, less upset and more angry. 

“Everything else was real-”

“How am I supposed to know that?” Harry yanked his hand from Draco’s and stood up, looking down at him with more anger than he had ever seen from the normally gentle boy. “How am I supposed to trust you. You kissed me. Was that a dare too?”

“No, I swear, I really like you, Harry-”

“Shut up, Malfoy!” Harry yelled. Without waiting for a response, he spun on his heel and ran away, wiping his hands at his eyes as he dashed for the castle.


	6. Empty

Draco was alone on a garden bench.

Harry Potter was somewhere inside the castle now, and Draco was by himself, with only this thoughts to occupy him. 

Unfortunately, the only thing he could think about was Harry’s face dropping as he confessed. 

He blinked furiously, not sure why hot tears were welling up in his eyes, or why he was sad at all. It was Harry Potter, after all, his enemy. The person who Dumbledore trusted more than most teachers, who was always surrounded by friends, who Draco had hated since their first year.

Had he hated him all this time? Recent evidence pointed to no, but-

Draco couldn't think about that right now. He needed to get away. Usually, being outside was the best escape, but Draco didn’t think he could spend one more minute on the bench where he and Harry had kissed.

And then fell apart, shattered like glass.

Or maybe that was just Draco. He wondered if Harry was feeling the same way as he was as he shuffled to the castle door, teeth chattering.

Once he reached the entrance to the great hall, he hovered on the edge for a moment, enjoying the cold, before opening the door and entering the dining hall.

Everything felt stuffier in here, the heat of hundreds of bodies twirling and thrashing making Draco fan himself. He scanned the room, telling himself he was looking for Pansy, although he knew that wasn’t true. He couldn’t find anyone, including Potter. 

He weaved through the students, past the suffocating dancers, and finally broke out of the dance floor, panting.

He ran for the hall, not quite sure why he was running now, and not really caring if anyone saw him.

Once he was on the other side of the doors, only a few students milled around, taking a breather. Draco had to admit that it was significantly cooler outside the dining hall, and he was beginning to slump to the ground, exhausted and desperate to just have a couple of seconds to think, when he spotted a familiar dress.   
It belonged to a girl who was curled up and hunched over on the staircase. Her shoulders were heaving, her head burrowed in her arms. He could almost hear her muffled sobs, even with the Weird Sister’s bass pounding from the doors behind him.

He walked towards her carefully, until he was right in front of her, Just two steps below where she was sitting. 

She stifled her crying, as soon as he stopped, and he froze. Draco hadn’t really thought out what he was going to say to her once he was there, just heard someone who sounded like they were in just as much distress as he.

Hermione looked up, dark mascara tracing her face in black streaks, hair disheveled. Her eyes widened as they met Draco’s, then narrowed.

“What are you doing here?” Draco had to give her credit, she was trying as hard as she could to hold a straight face. It wasn't working, but it was the effort that counted, right? “And where’s Harry?”

Draco paused. “I’m not sure.”

“What did you do?” Hermione scowled.

“Nothing!” Realizing that was a lie, he stuttered- “Well, maybe something, but-”

Hermione gathered her dress and stood up. When she grabbed Draco’s arm, her fingernails dug into his skin and he winced. She dragged him into a corner so no prying eyes could see them. 

“What. did. you. do?” She hissed.

“What- I-”

“Look, Malfoy.” Hermione crossed her arms. “As you can see, I’m not in the mood. And if you hurt Harry, I want to know why, because god knows he’s going to bottle it up inside him until he bursts.”

Draco froze. She glared harder at him, and he finally broke. “Fine.” He sighed. “I kissed him.” He could see her eyes widen but continued. “And he said he liked it. But then I ruined everything, because I told him that it was a dare. Not the kissing, the part about taking him to the Yule Ball. The kissing definitely wasn't part of the dare. But I did it anyway. And now he’s angry because he says he can’t trust me.”

Hermione seemed at a loss for words, which was a first. 

They stood there in silence for a couple of agonizing seconds before she sighed. “What have you gotten yourself into?” She shook her head. “I have no idea what Harry sees in you, but all he’s been talking about for the past week is you, Draco. He likes you. He’s just hurt. Really hurt. But if you talk to him, maybe you can smooth things over. Tell him how you really feel.”

“How do you know I should do all of this?” Draco asked, stunned.

“Because I wish someone would do it to me.” Hermione cast a wistful glance in the direction of the great hall. “Now go. Talk to him.”

\- - -

Draco stared at the sleeping woman in front of him. The Fat Lady. 

He cleared his throat and she awoke with a start. He heard he mutter, “I thought the students wouldn’t be back for a while…” When she looked up at him, she gasped. 

“Draco Malfoy!” Her eyebrows shot upwards. 

“That’s my name.” Draco frowned. “I need to get into the Gryffindor common room.”

The Fat Lady laughed nervously. “And what makes you think I would let you do that?”

“Because it’s a matter of love- well, at least like.” Draco said, confident she would swing open.

“Sorry, but I can’t let anyone in without the password.” She shook her head. Quieter; “Especially a Slytherin.”

Draco rubbed the bridge of his nose, exasperated. “I need to get in. You can’t cut me some sla-” Before he could finish, he heard a thump from behind him and spun around to face Neville Longbottom, who had obviously tripped, as he was lying on the floor a couple feet away from where Draco was standing.

“Longbottom.” He sneered. “What are you doing here?”

Neville looked terrified as he stuttered out, “I-I could ask the same of you, M-Malfoy.”

Something about the boy stumbling to his feet gave Draco a pain in his chest. Why was Longbottom so scared of him?

Oh, right. Draco could think of more than a few instances where he hadn’t been the kindest to the Gryffindor boy. 

“I’m trying to get into the Gryffindor common room. And I need your help.”

“You cant- I won’t-”

“Please?” 

Neville stopped in his tracks. “What?”

“I’m trying to find Harry- my partner for the Yule Ball, and I’d like your help. Please.” He added again.

“I-” Neville stammered. “I- okay.”

He whispered a password into the Fat Lady’s ear and she swung open. He still didn’t trust him. 

He doesn’t have any reason to.

All thoughts of Neville had flown out of Draco’s mind by the time he reached the common room. Plush chairs surrounded a crackling fire, and the glass windows showed a stunning view of the castle.   
Both the Slytherin and Gryffindor common rooms had their strengths and weaknesses, but the Gryffindor’s was certainly homier.

You’re not here to admire the common room, Draco scolded himself. 

He saw a door on the other side of the room and dashed to it, flinging it open. He ran in, and up a set of stairs.

When he was halfway through, he felt the stairs morph under his feet, becoming smooth. He flailed his arms but ultimately failed at keeping his balance, falling onto his stomach. It knocked all of his breath out, and he slid down what was now a slide. When he landed at the bottom, it took a few moments for him to get his bearings again, before he leapt up and opened the door again, finding   
Neville Longbottom on the other side, stifling his giggles. 

He glared. “Why can’t I get in?”

Neville said between laughs, “That’s… the girls… dormitory!”

Draco huffed and brushed past him, spotting another set of doors at the other side of the room.

“Thank for your help!” He called sarcastically over his shoulder before ascending the stairs to the boys dorm.

When he got to the top, he faced the door that led to where Harry must be. He had his hand on the doorknob before he paused, realizing that he hadn’t thought about what he would say to him.   
It’s too late for thinking ahead now, Draco told himself, and turned the knob, pushing the door to the boy’s dormitory open.

It was empty. 

Harry Potter was not sitting on his bed. He was nowhere to be found.

While making his way up to the dormitory, Draco had pictured this in many ways, most of them involving him sweeping Harry off his feet and then (maybe) kissing him again. 

None of them involved him, alone in the Gryffindor common room.

Alone again.

He leaned against the wall, sinking down until his knees were pressing against his chest and his head rested against his chin.

What to do now?

Of course, Potter had to come back eventually, so Draco could just stay where he was. However, this would also mean that Finnegan, Thomas, Longbottom, and Weasley would be back. 

So he couldn’t wait in the dormitory.

He pushed himself up. Tiredness was beginning to settle into his bones, and he had to force his legs to move, one foot in front of the other. 

He could hardly keep his eyes open as he left the Gryffindor dorm. He didn’t remember passing by Neville, couldn’t remember passing by anyone on the way back to his room, and couldn’t remember collapsing in his bed and falling asleep instantly.

\- - -

Draco woke up to the sun rising, casting long, honey-colored shadows across the dorm. 

He jumped out of his bed, glancing around the room. No one else was awake yet. They were all exhausted from last night. Of course, so was Draco, but he had too much on his mind to go back to sleep.

He decided to head down to the great hall early. It was almost deserted, but Draco was glad. 

When he sat down, he looked around the room, but the few students who were having breakfast as early as he was were busy laughing and gossiping about last night’s events. 

Without meaning to, he scanned the Gryffindor table, but Harry, Ron and Hermione’s spots were empty.

Not that he expected them to be there, of course.

Not that he was hoping.

The food tasted indescribably dull today. Draco wasn’t sure why, as hogwarts food was typically good, almost better than the food from the cooks at home. Just another addition to his great day.

He wandered aimlessly around the school for about an hour, not particularly in any sort of rush. He wondered if Harry was in his room. He considered going up to try and see him again. He did a lot of sighing and scowling at first years. 

Eventually, he decided that enough was enough and headed out to the quidditch pitch. 

It always calmed him to fly. Even if he wasn’t as good as Harry, it helped him to rise above his problems, both literally and figuratively. 

Draco crossed the grounds quickly, grabbed his broom, and stood in the center of the pitch. He stopped for a moment and let the wind push his hair out of his face. He tilted his face upwards and let his eyelashes flutter closed, breathing deeply. And he was calm.

Up until he opened his eyes. 

High up, skimming the clouds, was a tiny dot darting across the sky. He dived and swerved and did moves Draco only dreamed of being able to achieve.  
He squinted, shielding his eyes with one hand. At first, Draco thought it was Viktor Krum, the durmstrang champion and quidditch star, but as the figure began to swoop to the ground, he recognized him.

It was Harry Potter.


	7. reprise

Harry had obviously not seen Draco yet. He intended to keep it that way at first.

He had taken a step backwards before he paused. Am I really going to do this? Run away?

He was a Malfoy. But he was more than that now, more than his name. More than his father. 

And even though he could practically hear his father’s voice screaming at him to turn around, to walk away, Draco walked towards Harry Potter.

It took a few moments for Harry to spot him. Draco could tell because the second Harry saw Draco, he lost control of his broom and began to plummet down to earth.

Draco gasped and moved under him, squinting up at the boy who was plummeting to Earth.

Thankfully, Harry hadn’t been very high up when he fell, but it was still enough to knock Draco’s breath out of him when Harry fell on top of him.

They both crumpled to the ground, Harry on top of Draco.

Harry quickly leapt up, his eyes shifting around, uncomfortable. 

Draco winced, rubbing his back, which had been jabbed by a rock when he had fallen. He stumbled to his feet and grabbed Harry’s arm before he could run away.

“Wait.” The word fell out of him all at once, escaping his lips through no will of his own. His plans, the things he had imagined himself saying to Harry while he had been wandering, were gone.

Harry stood there, his eyes wide open like a cornered animal. A moment passed and all Draco could do was look into Harry’s eyes. 

How was he supposed to apologize for lying when, for all Harry knew, the apology could be a lie also?

He swallowed. Harry was still staring. “I wanted to apologize. I shouldn’t have lied to you. And I want you to know that not everything was a lie.”

“Draco- I- I can’t.” Harry tugged his arm from Draco’s grip gently. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I don’t know how much I can trust you.” Harry looked at him solemnly.

“Please.” Was Draco begging now? He knew it was unbecoming, but he had to win Harry back. He had spent too much of his life sneering at Harry, exchanging curt insults. Even going back to the way they were before would be better than this: quiet and silences that stretched too long. 

And then he was crying. 

The tears were hot down his face, and Harry was frozen. He took deep breaths, but the tears kept coming. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves, shoulders shaking, until he slumped to the ground. 

It was embarrassing. He buried his head in his arms, and he couldn’t feel Harry by his side. 

He must’ve left. Draco thought.

Until he felt arms wrap around him, heard Harry whispering in his ear, “It’s okay.”

He looked up, wiping his face again. It didn’t do much, just spread his tears over his face. “You aren’t going to leave?”

“Well, I couldn’t leave you here, looking like a right mess.” A small smile eased its way onto Harry’s face. “And I’m pretty sure you aren’t lying now. I don’t think anyone could fake that.”

Draco let out a small laugh-sob. “Don’t underestimate me, Potter.”

And finally, he felt better, with Harry by his side. 

...

“I wish the dance could’ve ended on a better note.” Harry sighed. 

They were still on the ground, Harry so close to Draco that he shivered. The grass was prickly Draco’s back, but he didn’t mind; he was with Harry. 

“We still have good memories from it, though.” Draco nudged him.

“Like when you nearly choked on that piece of ham during dinner?” Harry smirked.

“Don’t remind me!” Draco cried.

“It was pretty funny to me.” Harry laughed, quickly adding, “Not at the time, of course! But later, when I was reflecting.”

“You were reflecting on me?” Draco raised one eyebrow. 

“Yeah. Before you came, actually.” Harry gestured towards the sky. “Speaking of which, fancy a fly?”

“You bet your ass I’ll win, Potter.” Draco said as he was pushing himself off the ground.

“Don’t speak too soon, Malfoy.” Harry called over his shoulder, running up to his broom. Draco thought he saw a wink as he mounted it and flew up into the air.

He quickly followed Harry, grabbing his broom and pushing off. Harry was waiting for him, hovering in the air impatiently. Draco flew right next to him. 

“Race you to the goalposts?” He asked, pointing to the hoops opposite to where they were. Before he had put his hand back on the broom, Harry had sped off. “Hey! No fair!” Draco frowned, taking off a couple of seconds after Harry. He leaned forwards, putting all his weight on the broom. It went faster than Draco usually pushed it, and he relished the wind whipping his hair out of his face and filling his nose, clear and fresh. 

He leaned back as far as he could without falling off the broom when he realized he had lost track of time and the goalposts were only a couple of feet ahead of him. He skidded to a stop and turned his broom, as he had stopped a few feet away from Harry.

“You bet your ass I’ll win, Potter.” Harry mocked when Draco got within hearing distance. 

“You little-” Draco started to say, but Harry had already flown off. He leaned forwards once again, tailing Harry, always just a little too far behind. He reached out his hand, grasping at Harry’s bright red robes, but his fingertips only brushed their edge. 

Draco had hardly realized that they were practically skimming the ground when he just managed to grab a fistful of Harry’s ribes, putting him off balance, and in turn pulling Harry down with him. 

They tumbled to the ground together, somehow becoming entangled, red and silver and green and gold all twisted together. They were on their sides, both panting, and looking in each other’s eyes. 

There was a moment of silence. 

Draco didn’t want to do anything Harry was uncomfortable with. Thankfully, Harry had liked the kiss before, but was it too soon after their fight? Would he make things worse?

Before Draco had time, to make a decision, Harry cupped Draco’s face in his palm and leaned in.

Draco closed his eyes just as their lips met. Harry’s lips were soft and eager, and Draco thought that this was a thousand times better than their first kiss, where both of them had been cautious. Harry’s round, wire-rimmed glasses were lightly pressed into Draco’s skin, cold and smooth. Draco reached his hand towards Harry’s hair, running his fingers through it and pushing it back from his forehead. His other hand clasped Harry’s tie in his hand, (because of course Harry wore his school uniform even though it was break, that was so Harry that Draco almost let out a giggle) pulling the other boy closer. 

Draco couldn’t judge the time, probably a few minutes, but it felt much longer when they finally broke away, because they had been in their own space, their own world, for so long. 

They both had giddy grins on their faces, and Harry’s face was flushed red. Draco laughed. 

“Are you laughing at my kissing skills, Draco?” Harry smiled. 

“No, I’m laughing because that was perfect and we need to do it more often.”

“At least ask me to dinner first!” Harry said, acting indignant. 

“Are you asking me out?”

“No, I’m asking you to ask me out.”

“Fine, then. Harry, d’you want to go to hogsmeade together next weekend?” Draco fake-sighed, still not able to make the grin that seemed permanently present on his face go away. 

“I thought you’d never ask!” Harry laughed. 

And Draco felt his heart swell as Harry stumbled to his feet, still dizzy with giddiness, and held his hand out. As he looked up at Harry, with his his wild grin and raised eyebrows and messy black hair, and took his hand, he never wanted to let go. 

...

author's note: 

thank you, thank you, thank you! if you have read this far, left kudos, or commented, you've motivated me so much and I never would have finished this without you! this is the final chapter of this particular story, but not the end of my stories.

i've already started writing a story set in sixth year called "saving draco malfoy" (also a drarry story) it the first chapter should be out soon, so (shameless self promo, sorry guys) subscribe to me if you want to read more like this. i promise you're not going to regret it.

 

...

fin


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